A/N: Aaaand we're back! Hello, 2013 C: I extend a huge hug and many thanks to anyone who has actually stuck by until now! Let's see…where were we?

Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.
Peter Pan belongs to JM Barrie.

Francis and Gillian had tossed their chances to the wind and booked themselves a room in a local bed and breakfast for their stay in Vienna. Surprisingly, it was a change for the better. For about half the price of a tourism-approved hotel cranny, they were given two mahogany full beds made with quilted covers within a spacious, airy room. The two friends were absolutely thrilled. Gillian flung open the doors to the tiny balcony in order to peer down at those in the street below.

"Greetings, Austria! The great Gill and Fran-Fran have arrived to your humble city. Fall to your knees in awe!"

"Hey, time to stop terrorising the locals," Francis called from the desk. He had plugged in his laptop, waiting as it connected to the B&B's wifi. "Did you forget we've got a Skype date with 'Tonio in like, five minutes?"

"'Course I haven't!"

She bounded back over to him, and they watched intently as the small video screen loaded. In a minute, an image sprang to life: a room ablaze with morning sunlight, though that was no match for the dazzling smile on their friend's face.

"Francis! Gilly!"

"Toni!"

"Good morning from this side of the pond!"

"It's evening here," laughed Francis. He turned the computer to face the balcony windows. "Sun's almost set. We're in Vienna."

"Oooh, that's so cool! You should go find Ro…hey, hey! Lovi! Look who I'm talking to!"

Evidently they had caught Lovina on one of her visits to the farm. This wasn't surprising, considering how regularly she went. Antonio's grin widened as he scooted over to make room for her in front of the webcam, the wheels on his chair making a loud rattling noise. His girlfriend's tilted face appeared on the left, very disgruntled and still bearing traces of sleep.

"Come on. Say hi!"

"Fine. Hi. And bye."

"Wait, that can't be just it!"

"Sure it can. BYE."

Francis and Gillian shared a snigger as Antonio hastily got up to chase after Lovina, leaving his computer chair spinning around uncontrollably. It was probably for the better anyway – while she actually wasn't as much of a killjoy as one would think, Lovina was still somewhat possessive of Antonio, and usually didn't care for the silly pranks and jokes they loved to crack.

Antonio slid back into his seat, allowing himself a few spins as he reported back.

"Okay, she just says she doesn't want to talk until she's had breakfast. I had mine hours ago, though."

"You're like a rooster, Toni." Gillian yawned, feeling tired at the mere thought of waking that early. "A regular skylark."

"It's almost lunchtime anyway," he responded cheerfully. "So...Austria! Have you met up with Roderich yet?"

"No, we just got here. About an hour ago. Gave him a call before we left and he said to have lunch tomorrow at some cafe he likes. Hey, did you know that he's actually living with his aunt?"

"Oh, that's pretty convenient."

"Yeah, he jumped at the chance to not stay in the dorms. Not like he actually has a problem paying for it."

Antonio cocked his head and a thoughtful expression came onto his face. "Well, it's probably wiser in the long run to be careful with finances. Especially for you guys - all this travelling has got to be pretty hard on the wallet, right?"

Francis raised his eyebrows nonchalantly. "We got pretty lucky. The entire last two months were with our family. And this Bed and Breakfast is really sweet - Gill, I think we should start looking only into these kind of places from now on."

"Yeah! 'Tonio, look at the amazing room we got here. It's just as nice as the Prague hotel, but just as cheap at the hostel in Copenhagen." On Antonio's end, the picture wobbled violently as Francis's laptop was lifted up from the desk. "Look at the furnishings! Feel like we're in a castle, but a nice modern day one. Oh, and here's the view."

The tiny balcony was just barely enough to hold two teenagers and a computer. Antonio oohed and aahed loyally at the baroque-styled roofs and windows, although in reality he could see little from the tiny screen. A sharp gust of air caused his friends to retreat into their fabulous room. Francis and Gillian both flopped onto the closest bed, any consultation with one another unnecessary.

"How long are you guys going to be there?"

"About two and a half weeks, the usual. Well, except for just before this...when you're with family, you've no choice but to stay longer."

"Don't worry, we'll find you an awesome birthday present!"

Antonio laughed. "Yeah, and it'll totally get here on time, in one magical week."

"...Oh. Right." Gillian paused, trying to spin the statement. "Whatever, it's actually better that way. It'll show up out of nowhere long after it's passed, so instead you can have a present of pure random awesomeness, not some boring birthday present."

"Boring? From you? Never!" Antonio grinned again as he leaned forwards and rested his chin in his hands. "What else you been up to? Whatcha gonna do other than see Roderich?"

Francis began describing the trip from Berlin, from their frantic chase after a train that had been on the verge of leaving to the interesting types who had shared a compartment with them, including that man with a wooden leg and the most amazing moustache. Gillian was ecstatic when he had graciously agreed to a photograph; a new Facebook profile picture was long overdue. She rested her head on a pillow and stared up at the ceiling, which had been painted the perfect sky blue. As Francis moved onto the choice sights of Vienna that the two of them had picked out, her mind drifted back overseas. Maddie hadn't sent her anything in a few days, being burdened with a very busy schedule. Gillian didn't mind too much - anyway, there could be a new message waiting in her inbox right now.

She sat up, ready to ask Francis if she could use the laptop after the call was done. The moment she did, another figure sidled back into view.

"Hey, Lovina! Welcome back."

"Yeah, okay." A full stomach didn't seem to have improved Lovina's opinion of this Skype call, but she parked herself on Antonio's lap anyway. He happily obliged, wrapping his arms around her as she poked a piece of toast into his mouth.

"Ah, our star crossed lovers from stage to reality are still going strong, I see."

Lovina blushed, scowling. "God, you're never going to get tired of cracking those lame references, are you?"

Francis smirked. "You wish. Come on, it's the story of your romance - or shall we say, showmance. We'll probably even show the footage at the inevitable wedding." He ignored the squeak of rage and embarrassment. "Shall I await invitations?"

Lovina had snatched back her toast and was gnawing away, pointedly not looking at the screen. Antonio shrugged.

"You need money for a wedding...there's a lot of stuff to plan, you know. And then after, if we wanted to get our own house, that's another expense, and not to mention kids..."

"Oh my GOD! Why are we even talking about this? I'm seventeen years old, stupids. Not even out of high school!"

"Oh yeah, that too."

"I don't want to get married anytime soon." Lovina angrily brushed the crumbs from her lips with the back of her hand and stood up. "Let me know when you're all done with this stupid topic."

She stomped off for the second time. Gillian and Francis grinned at each other. Turning back to the screen, they were surprised to see Antonio so unperturbed at the rejection. As if reading their minds, he tilted his head and shrugged.

"She only said she doesn't want to get married anytime soon. That makes sense. And anyway, I said that kind of stuff needs a lot of preparation. I don't think we have the means to support each other right now..."

"Ugh!" Gillian fell back into the pillows, rolling her eyes. "Can't believe we're actually talking seriously about weddings and stuff. This makes us sound like old fogeys."

The boys laughed. "Fogey? Who's old fashioned now?" Antonio accused.

Francis took the blame. "Hey, I only brought up marriage just to mess with her. I didn't think you were going to take it so seriously. Though I guess that out of everyone we know, you two are the closest to the altar..."

"No more talking about it," Gillian ordered. "Tell us what's going on back at home!"

Antonio happily launched into a lengthy ramble about the going-ons on the farm, their old school, and anyone else who had even the tiniest scrap of information to spill. Gillian was glad that Antonio was so easily distracted. On the one hand, throwing a big wedding would be really fun and exciting. She had gone to a few weddings – even been a flower girl once, but only once for obvious reasons. Not once had she given much thought to what came afterwards. Gillian shrugged it off. It would be years before the three of them would be broken up that way.

"...because it's still winter," Antonio finished. Something signaled to him in the background, and he turned his head to listen. "Ah, we're having lunch soon. I gotta go fetch the kids from their art lessons. Talk to you soon, okay?"

"Definitely. Message you for the next time?"

"Yeah!" The screen was filled with blurry pixilated fingers as Antonio waved at the camera. "Bye! Have fun! Take lots of pictures!"

"Obviously!"

The screen went black. Gillian instantly laid claim to the laptop, to which Francis easily conceded to. The day-long travelling had tired him out, he declared, shifting onto his side to take a short nap. Gillian promised to wake him for dinner.

Sure enough, a bolded line on the screen indicated that there was news from across the world.

Dear Gillian,

I'm so, so sorry about not answering you faster. It sounds like you're having the greatest time in Europe, and have a safe trip to Vienna! There isn't anything to say apart from having a lot of schoolwork and rehearsals, which was exactly what I talked about last time. Sometimes, my life seems incredibly boring...Oh, we had a really huge snowstorm recently! I don't know if you already knew about it. As much as I love snow, a tiny part of me is really looking forward to spring...but that's when Peter Pan goes up, so maybe I DON'T really want it to come so soon.

Speaking of the play, rehearsals are coming along just fine! So far we've only had two or three, so it's not like a WHOLE lot is getting done...yet. Jonas and Peter have stopped arguing so much, now that it's clear that their parts are actually quite equal in stage time and lines. Since there are a lot of fight scenes, we already started to choreograph the big one at the end between Peter and Hook. It's really complicated, since they have to climb over tons of stuff (well, Zoe does) or use two weapons (well, Adam does!). Good thing they're brother and sister so they can practice at home.

Maybe I can take pictures so you can see next time.

Maddie

A/N: A short chapter to get the show back onto the road!

Ummm so, a quick update on my life: I officially graduated from university in November, and after a few weeks of job hunting, landed a steady one almost completely by accident. Unfortunately it's exhausting and very unfulfilling, not to mention that I'm actually overqualified for the position. So my last day is this coming Saturday, leaving me free to volunteer at a book festival the week afterwards! I hope to do some networking/get advice from those in the business/just have some fun while I try to get back into the flow of all things writable, since I'm going to apply for a master's program in creative writing. Here's to lots of hope and luck!

Once again, thanks for reading. I'm fully aware of how miserably long this hiatus was, and will no longer promise any sort of regular updating scheme because of it.